A Secret Well Kept
by sparklegirl18
Summary: Stress can really tax a person. Ethan knows this and tries to warn Emma of this, but she won't listen. Until it catches up with her that is. It gets so bad that she finally has had enough. It was time for the secret well kept to me well known.


A Secret Well Kept

Emma's pov.

"Emma we need to talk about this!" Ethan yelled to me, trying to keep up with my brisk pace. "I know that you want to find this person, but you are pushing yourself way to hard! When was the last time that you relaxed? Or slept for that matter!" I whirled around quickly to face him with a scowl on my face.

"Ethan I am fine, and we have talked about it!" I yelled back into his face. "How can i relax when I know that someone has killed my sister and is currently stringing me along on some goose chase when they are only going to kill me in the end!" By this time I was crying. "Just leave me be for the moment Ethan, I just want to be alone. I need to sort this out on my own." Still crying I ran to Sutton's car, got into the drivers seat, and just sat there crying. I wanted to get up and persue this mystery, but I couldn't do anything but sit there and bawl my eyes out.

I felt pathetic. I was sitting here being a baby while there was a murderer out there getting away with their crime all the while they plan another. If i actually wanted to get anything accomp - ... Suddenly my chest was tightening, and air wasn't coming into my body. I was gasping for the air that wouldn't co-operate. This couldn't be happening, I survive until now only to die during an anxiety attack.

This didn't even register into my brain. The only coherent thought that would form in my mind was that I needed help and i needed it now! Through the pain, I fumbled with my phone trying to contact the one person that I knew could help me. Clouds were now dancing infront of my eyes; I could barely see anything. My fingers weakly press the green call button on my phone. _ Come on, come on, come on_ I thought desperately,_ please pick up!_ My vision was tunneling, the only thing keeping me conscious was sheer will and determination. The phone kept ringing, he wasn't answering, there was no one to help me. The last thing that I heard before passing out was the sound of Ethan's voice.

Ethan's pov.

I was dumbfounded. That was a simple way of putting it. This just proved my point of her being way to stressed, the Emma that i knew would never snap that way and then storm off without some explanation. I knew that I needed to help her, but I also knew that she would need time to herself sometimes to deal with her problems. I stared at her car, wanting to go over there and comfort her, but wanting to preserve our already taxing relationship, I let her have her peace for the time being.

The ringing of my phone brought me out of my thoughts. My phone screen read Sutton Mercer, but I knew that it was Emma. I wonder if she meant to call me, and if she did why? She seemed pretty mad at me, I didn't think that she would call me this quickly. Unable to resist it any longer I answered her call, but i didn't hear anything. Not even a rustling suggesting that she was moving the phone in anyway. I kept listening, but still heard nothing. Just as i was about to hang up I heard a crash, and instantly knew that the phone had fallen from where ever it had been. This worried me greatly! Emma was always so very conscious of Suttons' things. She treated it as if she were getting paid to keep it in perfect condition. So I knew that she would never drop something as expensive as Sutton Mercer's cell phone and not have a cow a split second after. I looked at her car again knowing that that is where she would be, and I ran there as fast as my legs would dare to go.

When I got there I peered through the passenger window and almost fainted at what I saw. Emma was laying limp across part of the drivers seat and part of the passenger seat. I opened the door and picked up her head and put it in my lap.

"Emma! Emma! Emma please wake up! Please!" I shook her, trying to wake her up. She must have passed out from an anxiety attack. I already knew that she was stressed, but I never knew that it would be bad enough that she would actually pass out. I scolded myself for not coming to help her.

"Ethan?" A weak voice brought me out of my inner monologue. "You got my call, thank you for coming to help me." She smiled up at me, and I returned the favor by smiling back down at her. My expression soon turned worried.

"Are you okay? What happend? Did you just have an anxiety attack or did something worse happen? Why are you not answering me?" I fired question after question at her.

"Ethan I'm fine," She assured me, "it was just an anxiety attack. I guess you were right, I was way too stressed. Feel free to say I told you so." I looked at her like she was crazy.

"Are you kidding me! Why in the world would I be trying to prove you wrong when you just woke up from being passed out!" Why would she think that I would do that, but I didn't get a chance to ask her as she was zoned out, deeply lost into her thoughts. When it looked as if she were coming to, she turned to me with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Ethan, I fully agree with you now, I was way to stressed, and I need to have a clear mind before I continue this mission." She looked up at me to see if I would catch on so that she wouldn't have to continue, but I was lost to where this was leading to. I waved her on. "The only way that I could clear my mind to do so would be for me to get this secret off my chest." Finally it registered into my mind what she intended to do. I started to violently shake my head.

"Emma no! This mystery person told you that if you told someone that bad things could happen. Please don't risk your own life trying to save your sisters!" She looked at me sadly.

"But if I don't tell someone then I am going to explode. I can't just keep pretending to be someone that I'm not! Mr. and Mrs. Mercer, Laurel, Madeline, Charlotte, almost everyone think that I am Sutton and it's killing me. They think that I am the person that they've known forever, but it's not! I'm not Sutton, and no matter how hard i try to be, I will never BE Sutton!" I tried to think of some reason to contradict her. I didn't want her to put her life in danger!

"You could go to jail for fraud! They could press charges! They could hurt you! Please don't do this! Please!" I was pleading with her now, but I knew that there was no way to sway her decision once it was made.

"No Ethan I am going to tell them the truth, the whole truth, and then maybe luck will turn my way and I'll have more people backing me." I put my head down in defeat; no swaying her decision now.


End file.
